Gladiator

 
sword and
 
then dropped it to the ground.
He

seemed to be 

 
saying, “I could kill, but I choose not to.” 
27 

---

Haken was surprised. Was this an insult? He looked to
Proximo for orders. Proximo made a sign to him to continue. 
Haken struck Maximus across the stomach. Maximus fell
forward but then stood straight again and faced him. 
Haken looked again to Proximo, and again he was told to
continue. 
This time Haken struck Maximus across his wounded arm. 
Maximus almost fell to the ground but managed to stay on his
feet. All the time he stared straight at Haken, who was becoming
very angry. Maximus’s thoughts were clear: “I may be low, but
I’m not as low as you. I won’t kill for sport” 
Proximo found it very interesting. Haken lifted the sword
again, ready to hurt Maximus really badly, but Proximo stopped
him. “That’s enough for now” he said. “His time will come.” He 
looked behind him to the servant with the pots of paint. “Mark
that one,” he said. 
♦
In the heat of the late afternoon Haken, Juba, the Greek, and the
other new gladiators sat on the ground in the shadows. 
Maximus lay by the wall to one side. He had a small, sharp stone 
and was using it to try to remove the letters SPQR from his arm. 
Juba called out to him, “Spaniard! Why didn’t you fight? We all 
have to fight.” 
Maximus did not answer. 
The